Airborne 12.09.16

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Airborne 12.09.16

It's The UK’s Largest Fully-Autonomous Unmanned
Aircraft

BAE Systems has successfully flown the largest
fully-autonomous unmanned aircraft ever to be built in the UK. The
next generation autonomous system, MANTIS, completed its maiden
flight in Woomera, South Australia.

During subsequent flights, MANTIS successfully completed a
series of trials demonstrating the capability of the system and the
potential of large unmanned systems to support future UK Ministry
of Defense (MOD) operational needs. The MANTIS program is jointly
funded by UK MOD and UK Industry.

Defence Equipment & Support Director Combat Air, Air
Vice-Marshal Simon Bollom, said: "These trials at the end of this
technology demonstration program have successfully demonstrated a
number of key factors that have helped build confidence in the
feasibility of a UK-derived medium altitude long endurance unmanned
aerial system."

Chris Allam, Managing Director of the Autonomous Systems &
Future Capability business within BAE Systems, said: “This
achievement is testament to the can-do approach of the whole team
working on this program. MANTIS has gone from concept to flight in
just 19 months and the MOD, BAE Systems and a number of industry
parties have worked together to make this happen. It confirms the
skill and innovation within the UK aerospace sector and the ability
to move quickly from concept to reality.”

Mark Brown, Vice President Unmanned Air Systems in the U.S.
said, “The completion of MANTIS’ initial flight trials
is another milestone for BAE Systems. A medium altitude long
endurance Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) that is fully autonomous and
has reduced operations and maintenance costs represents a
significant capability to the war fighter. MANTIS’ potential
to carry mission systems and weapons represents a unique
combination of performance, flexibility, and lethality.”

The BAE Systems UAS Program is built upon four pillars: Air
Vehicle Systems, Mission Systems, Support Services, and
Infrastructure. BAE Systems is unique in being able to offer
comprehensive programs through a cafeteria-style menu of products
and services anywhere in the world.

MANTIS has a 20 meter wingspan and is BAE Systems’ first
all-electric aircraft. The system is intended to be easily
deployable and can be broken down to fit into a military transport
aircraft. MANTIS is designed to be a real workhorse with
“plug and play” elements in the mission system and the
ability to carry a wide range of sensors.

MANTIS is a fully-autonomous next generation unmanned aircraft
system. It can execute its mission with a much reduced need for
human intervention by understanding and reacting to its
environment. Such autonomy increases operational effectiveness
allowing more focus on the mission without the usual concerns over
vehicle control. It also reduces manpower requirements and the risk
of accidents due to human error and the communications/data link
requirements between the vehicle and the ground.

MANTIS could carry out intelligence gathering at long distances
and can carry significant payloads in terms of sensors and,
potentially, weaponry.

The MANTIS system will feature an end to end information
capability, which will facilitate full integration with the UK's
C4I infrastructure, significantly enhancing sovereign operational
capabilities. In today’s high tempo operational environment
improved situational awareness and decision-making are achieved
through this integration activity. MANTIS shares a common UAS
control infrastructure with other BAE Systems UAS’ such as
Taranis and HERTI.